This invention relates to vessels such as swimming pools and more particularly to strapless support systems for above-ground swimming pools and to buttresses for walls of the above-ground swimming pools.
The popularity of swimming pools, particularly in residential areas, continues to increase. This increased popularity is based at least in part on the availability of aesthetically appealing above-ground pools, whose durability permits cost-effective purchasing by consumers. Above-ground pools additionally are particularly useful in areas where substantial excavation is either impermissible or undesirable. In densely-populated regions, for example, residential lawns may not be sufficiently large to accommodate the space required for in-ground pools. Moreover, in some cases they may be inadequate to accommodate the equipment necessary to excavate in-ground pools, even if space for such pools exists. Alternatively, above-ground pools may be preferable because of the decreased time typically needed for installation (and, if necessary, removal) or the lesser maintenance requirements and costs often associated with them.
Many substantially-permanent above-ground pools are generally either circular or oval in shape, with each type comprising multiple vertical walls and a frame. Because of their strength, galvanized steel or other compositions are usually chosen as materials from which the walls are made. Nonetheless, water pressure present at and near the bottoms of filled pools often requires the walls of above-ground pools to be braced for reliable performance. This bracing requirement is particularly pertinent in connection with oval pools, whose elongated side walls are especially vulnerable to collapse from the outward pressure exerted by the water contained therein.
As a consequence of this vulnerability, existing oval above-ground pools are constructed with braces supporting the lower sections of their side walls. Each brace includes three pieces, denominated an xe2x80x9cuprightxe2x80x9d portion, an xe2x80x9cangledxe2x80x9d portion, and a xe2x80x9cconnectingxe2x80x9d portion. FIG. 1 illustrates such braces 10 of above-ground pool 14, whose generally oval shape requires use of multiple vertical side walls 18. As shown in FIG. 1, upright portion 22 extends upward from bottom 26 of side wall 18, with connecting portion 28 being either at ground level or buried underground. An end of each of upright portion 22 and angled portion 30 connects to a respective end of connecting portion 28, while the other end 34 of angled portion 30 attaches to upright portion 22. The resulting structure resembles the outline of a right triangle, with angled portion 30 constituting the hypotenuse.
FIG. 1 details the protruding nature of braces 10. Such braces 10 frequently extend outward several feet from side walls 18 on both sides of pool 14, increasing the surface area of the lawn required for installing the pool. This increased surface area can cause difficulties in installing pools in areas subject to covenants or zoning regulations, as insufficient land may remain post-installation to meet setback and other legal or contractual requirements. Braces 10 may also inhibit lawn maintenance adjacent pool 14 and, to some, may detract from the aesthetic appeal of the pool itself. The three-piece structure of each brace 10 additionally increases its associated manufacturing and installing cost, while supporting less than the entire vertical height of a side wall 18.
Furthermore, the nature of above-ground pools requires support straps that extend a substantial horizontal distance beneath the pool. Such straps render it difficult to construct a pool having a xe2x80x9cdeepxe2x80x9d end because the straps run the substantial horizontal length of the pool and prevent the liner forming the bottom of the pool from filling a hole that has a depth extending below the straps. Removing the straps changes pressure allocations. It is thus desirable to provide a pool that alleviates the need for straps extending a substantial distance below the pool and that alleviates the protruding braces shown in FIG. 1, while providing support for a deep pool or a pool having a deep end. It is also desirable to provide such a pool that keeps the pool removable, i.e., that does not require a concrete fill and that is easy to assemble.
The present invention, by contrast, provides a support system intended to resolve these issues. Particularly suited for vessels such as elongated above-ground pools, the support system includes a set of, typically, one-piece buttresses adapted to support the entire vertical height of one or each of a series of side walls. The flared design of the buttress, furthermore, matches the support it provides the side wall to the outward water pressure present along its height for enhanced reliability, permitting use of fewer buttresses than the number of existing braces that would otherwise be necessary. The one-piece design of the buttress further eliminates some of the manufacturing and installation costs associated with existing braces, while its sleek appearance is more likely to please discerning observers.
The diminished footprint of the innovative buttress additionally reduces the surface area required for its corresponding pool. Setback and similar requirements thus pose fewer problems than with existing pools, permitting pools incorporating the present invention to be located in smaller (especially narrower) lawns. Consequently, more residential customers in densely-populated areas are able to situate these pools in the lawn space available to them, increasing the market for the pools beyond that existing today. Abolishing the open areas between the angled portions of current braces and the ground additionally avoids many of the difficulties associated with providing lawn care in those areas. Additionally, residential and other customers are able to enjoy pools having deep ends because of a feature that makes it possible to provide an area of the pool that is deeper than a standard installation provides.
In some embodiments of the invention, each buttress is a unitary structure whose height approximates that of the side wall or walls of its associated pool. At least one surface of the buttress contacts the side wall along substantially its entire height, supporting the height of the wall continuously against the outward pressure exerted when the pool is filled with water. Because the buttress defined by these embodiments flares along its height it assumes, in side elevational view, the general form of a truncated, solid triangle. Embodiments of the buttress further comprise notched sections to retain the bottom rim of the poolxe2x80x94and therefore help retain the side wallsxe2x80x94in place.
Additionally included in some support systems of the present invention may be elongated cross-members spanning the width of the pool. Often called xe2x80x9comegasxe2x80x9d because of their cross-sectional appearance, the cross-members, when present, are buried so that only their upper surfaces are above the ground. Buttresses on each side of the pool may be bolted or otherwise attached to the upper surfaces to retain them in position relative to the ground. Protruding from the upper surface of a cross-member adjacent its ends are one or more tabs, which in use fit into slots in the bottom rim of the pool to maintain its position. The buttresses, side walls, bottom rim, and cross-members thus can interact to preserve the position and structure of the pool relative to the ground. Alternatively, the buttresses may extend below ground level and be bolted, interlocked, or otherwise connected or fitted to the cross-members.
A further option that may be included in some embodiments of the invention is a support system that alleviates the straps that extend below the pool. This feature may accompany the pool system or may be sold as a separate kit. It permits above-ground pool owners to have a deeper pool than is conventionally available.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a system for supporting a vessel designed to be filled with water or similar fluid.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a system including one or more buttresses for supporting the side wall or walls of an above-ground swimming pool.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system in which a buttress supports a wall of a pool substantially continuously along the height of the wall.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system for supporting pool walls in which the supporting structures extend only minimally beyond the exteriors of the walls.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a system, including one or more buttresses, for supporting a vessel such as an above-ground pool, in which the buttresses comprise notched sections to retain the bottom rim of the pool in position.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a system for supporting an above-ground swimming pool in which buttresses, side walls, the bottom rim, and cross-members interact to maintain the position and structure of the pool relative to the ground.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a system for supporting an above-ground swimming pool that enables a deep pool or a pool having a deep end, while still maintaining the position and structure of the pool relative to the ground.
It is still a further object of this invention to provide a substantially strapless support system that uses plates and beams that support the pool relative to the ground, while incorporating buttresses that extend only minimally beyond the exterior of the walls.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent with reference to the drawings and remainder of the text of this application.